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Monday, 7 April 2014

The Accidental Apprentice by Vikas Swarup

Sapna Sinha has already seen more
than her fair share of tragedy and hardship. The eldest daughter in a family of
three, she has lost one sister and her father. She is the breadwinner and
mainstay of the rest of her family: an ailing mother and a self-obsessed younger
sister. When she is approached by one of the country’s richest men and offered
an unbelievable opportunity, she is naturally sceptical. But circumstances
conspire to draw her, against her will, into his scheme. She is told if she can
pass seven tests from ‘the textbook of life’, she will become CEO of his
company.What follows is a thrilling,
fast-paced chronicle of six months in Sapna’s life. She is challenged,
overcomes obstacles, makes friends and discovers enemies. The ending is
ingenious and although I picked up some of the clues along the way and guessed
some of the minor points correctly, I was completely surprised by the final
twist.

Like most people, I have heard of
Slumdog Millionaire and enjoyed the
film. However, I had never read Q & A
on which it is based. The Accidental
Apprentice is Vikas Swarup’s third book and I suspect it is also heading
for a film adaptation. Writing in the first person as a member of the opposite
sex is not easy, but Swarup presents Sapna’s voice beautifully. We travel with
her on her journey of discovery and self-development. We meet some great
characters along the way. My favourite was the kleptomaniac Gandhian, Nirmala
Ben. The vision of modern-day India is as believable as it is shocking.

This is one of those ‘can’t put
it down’ books. I read it late into the night and then woke early in the
morning to read the closing chapters. Highly recommended. [5* review]